A growing body of scientific evidence is showing how meditation can improve our health and even change the way our brains function.
Harvard researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital found that meditating for only eight weeks significantly changed the brain’s grey matter (a major part of the central nervous system that is associated with processing information). Another recent study found that meditation actually prolonged the life of terminally ill breast cancer patients.
Millions of people find it difficult to concentrate, whether they’ve been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) or not. While it’s not surprising that learning to focus on a single object improves attention and concentration, it’s comforting to know that science thinks so too. A recent study found that meditating for just two weeks helped people to concentrate better and improve their memory.
A growing number of studies also show that, given its effects on the self-control regions of the brain, meditation can be very effective in helping people recover from various types of addiction.
While meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, researchers found that it also leads to changes in the body that may include:
-
- Reduced heart rate and blood pressure
-
- Reduced respiratory rate and oxygen consumption
-
- Reduced blood flow to skeletal muscles
-
- Reduced muscle tension
-
- Increased immunity (resistance to or recovery from illness)
-
- Increased energy and awareness
-
- Increased mental (cognitive) skills
-
- Reduced stress and anxiety both physically and mentally
-
- Increased empathy and sense of self.
Meditation has also been shown to improve conditions such as:
-
- Fibromyalgia
-
- Anxiety disorders
-
- Depression
-
- Insomnia.
However, to maintain your gains, you have to keep meditating every day as the brain can easily go back to its old ways.
Sources
www.io9.com
www.medicaldaily.com
www.psychologytoday.com